Joel Willett, a former CIA operative, joins Cheddar News to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin officially launching a "special military operation" in Ukraine



Cheddar Politics

Former CIA Operative Talks Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Welcome back to Cheddar politics. Russian President Vladimir Putin officially launching a special military operation in Ukraine sending troops into the country. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinski took to facebook with the news stating that Putin had declared war quote against the entire democratic world. So joining us now to discuss this further is Joel Willett, a former CIA operative who served in the directorate of operations focused on Russian intelligence operations. Thank you so much for joining us, Joel, welcome to the show, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinski took to facebook with this news stating that Putin, as I said, had declared war against the entire democratic world. We knew this was coming or we thought it was coming, it seems like an invasion was imminent. Was Ukraine ready? Yeah, I mean, so I think they were as ready as they could be. Uh, Ukraine has, you know, two times since the mid two thousand's um overturned, you know, a Russian puppet regime uh, in their country. Uh they've always, I think been wise to Russia's intentions there. And since, you know, 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, um, and the Russian backed forces in Donetsk and Luhansk, I think the Ukrainians knew that that that, that a day like this was was very possible and perhaps inevitable. Um, so I think they are as ready as they could be for this. That being said, they still need a lot of assistance. The West does have to have to step up um, you know, sanctions are not going to be enough. I do think the Ukrainians are going to need legal aid uh and support and that's going to put the West in a tricky position. But Zelinsky is 100% correct. This is not just a threat against Ukraine, this is about democracy versus kleptocracy. Democracy versus autocracy. Putin has come to the rescue of tyrants and despots across the world for the past decade. I mean, in just recent weeks, he sent forces to stamp out a popular uprising in Kazakhstan. He came to the aid of lukashenko and Belarus, um when hundreds of thousands were in the streets of minks, he's enabled bashar al assad to continue to decimate Syria. And that carnage that you see there in Syria, I'm afraid is is some of the worst of um you know, what could happen in Ukraine. But Zielinski has us 100% correct democracies everywhere across the globe need to stand up in the United Way against this Joel. One of the things I was struck by right before this attack advanced and almost presciently the Ukrainian president spoke yes, the Ukrainian president spoke in Russian to the Russian people telling them that Ukraine is not their enemy, that they are, they are, you know, from a common experience and that they can grow together and there's no need to attack them. One of the sort of analyses, and I ask for your opinion on this too, is that the Ukrainian people have more fight in them, because they know what they're fighting for and because they've been waiting eight years essentially for this to happen. The Russian military on the other hand, much larger, much more capable. Not as thrilled, right? Not fighting for necessarily the same homeland nationality. Do you think that makes a difference in this fight as Ukraine does try to defend itself? I absolutely think it makes a difference. Um, and you know, the from, you know, my contacts in Ukraine and around the region, I can say that, you know, the Ukrainians are prepared to fight to the last Ukrainian, Um because it is their homeland and because this is just completely unprovoked and so unnecessary, it is, it is 100% a war of choice. Um, and this is a fight they've been, you know, training for uh and are prepared to defend their homeland. That being said, I, you know, I think we can take some comfort in that that they've trained, that they've been prepared. They are up against, you know, an overwhelming force here. They don't have the air support that they're going to need to to successfully fight this back. I mean, they're going to fight hard. I think Russia is going to make tactical mistakes. Perhaps they already have in Chernobyl's, we're seeing some reports, um, you know, uh, tactically today. Um, but this is an uphill battle for the Ukrainians. Uh, and and uh, you know, I think that the best they can hope for here in the in the coming days is to buy time. Uh and and force tactical mistakes on the Russians. I want to look at a couple of tweets that have been sort of messaged out from the President, let's start with this one actually from the Foreign Minister though, the Foreign Minister sent us out a little after five am here on the East Coast and said this latest update. No, this is not a Russian invasion, only in the east of Ukraine, but a full scale attack from multiple directions. No, the Ukrainian defense has not collapsed. Ukrainian army took the fight. Ukraine stands with both feet on the ground and continues to defend itself. You can see it here on your screen jolt. How long can sort of this? As you mentioned, they're fighting to the last Ukrainian. How long does this continue to move in? A positive sort of mentality for the Ukrainian people? They are under attack. We know dozens have died according to the Ukrainian government. It's a really scary time. And we expect to see many, many Ukrainians flee at what point is there sort of a giving in? And I don't know that that is even the right term, but almost a fear of giving up. And maybe you made the point earlier about this being about democracy. Right? I I am not going to, you know, pretend to be an expert on uh you know, all of the conventional and unconventional forces in the Ukrainian military. Um but you know, I will just reference what I said earlier, this is an uphill battle for them. And I think that with strong Western response, and I'm very interested as we all are, and what President biden is going to announce here this afternoon, I think that that can certainly, um, you know, help them hold out for longer while we decide how far this will go. I do want to make the point that, you know, sanctions will make Russia suffer. But the only thing that's going to make this stop our Russian bodies, and I hate to be that blunt about it. But bodies coming home and incurring, you know, an actual, uh, you know, physical cost on Russians is the only way this is going to stop. Uh, and, and that's not a comforting thought. You know, when we're thinking about, you know, sanctions, which would be important, we cannot give any quarter in the West to the Russian oligarchy, right. London grad has to go away the Russian money, you know, in new york, and florida, and London has to go away. The yachts need to be confiscated. The access to banking systems has to be stopped. But I think that, um, we should not think that those actions as costly as they may be, will actually reverse Russia's course of action here. I'm not optimistic that they will Well, let's talk about those sanctions for a second. Let's talk about Russia, right? We've talked a lot about Ukraine and I think that's important. But let's talk about Russia, the Russian president, saying that anyone who attempts to intervene in Russia's campaign for national security and I use that term lately, um, is about to see sort of fire rained down upon them. Russia reminding the world that it is a nuclear superpower. That is certainly alarming language, especially here in the US where that language led to a cold War for decades. So what is Russia's sort of positioning in all this right now? They really do seem like the bad guy in everything that's happening. And how do they, how do you turn that around? I don't I don't know that you can, right, he's not, he this isn't the first time he's referenced, you know, their nuclear arsenal or made vague threats about it. Although I do think that, you know, that was a very, um, you know, dark moment in his announcement last night. And and and and the fact that he went live on air. Um, right, when Russia was presiding over an emergency meeting of the U. N. Security Council, I think shows his disdain for the world order and Russia's place in it. Um, they are a nuclear power. Uh, they can continue to to take these types of actions on their periphery or what they call their, you know, their near abroad. Um, and they have for years and and Putin's, you know, I think expertly exploited, um, you know, gaps in the will of the West to stand up to them. But I do think ultimately, um as I was saying at the top, you know, democracies everywhere in the West have to be united in this response, Russia will push as far as it can until they receive forceful pushback, so we have to leave it there a lot more to unpack as this unfolds. We'll look forward to having you back on. Thank you so much, Joel Willett is a former CIA operative who served in the directorate of Operations focusing on Russian intelligence operations.